Baptist Press
By Scott Barkley, posted April 4, 2025 in GuideStone, National News
NASHVILLE (BP) – As global markets continued to reflect the uncertainty brought on by tariffs announced this week by President Donald Trump, representatives from GuideStone Financial Resources are encouraging calm and a focus on goals.
“The markets, in general, are digesting a tremendous amount of news – the tariffs, stubbornly higher inflation and eroding consumer confidence, which has trended down a fourth consecutive month,” said Brandon Pizzurro, chief investment officer at GuideStone. “These headlines are a lot to digest, and markets are responding accordingly.
“That said, retirement investors should continue to keep a long-term view in mind and realize that these short-term market moves, while unnerving for many, are not uncommon and a generally healthy rotation on the back of two consecutive 20 percent-plus years for the S&P 500.”
Proclaiming his announcement as “Liberation Day” on April 2, Trump adjusted U.S. trade deals with other nations around the world, causing significant turmoil. The S&P 500 dropped 4.8 percent, its biggest one-day decline since the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 6 percent. Several countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own such as China’s 34 percent on U.S. goods. JPMorgan analysts increased odds of a global recession to 60 percent, more likely than not to happen this year.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said today that a period of higher prices and weaker growth was likely because of the larger-than-anticipated tariffs.
“While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent,” he said. “Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem.”
Pizzurro expressed something similar in his remarks issued by GuideStone.
“Historically, markets have rewarded those who have kept their long-term objectives in focus,” he said. More Here
